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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24980863">A Girls Got To Eat</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jungle_ride/pseuds/jungle_ride'>jungle_ride</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:48:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,502</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24980863</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jungle_ride/pseuds/jungle_ride</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It started because of basic human need. It started because of pancakes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Female Character/Original Female Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Eat Drink and Make Merry 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Girls Got To Eat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoslam/gifts">echoslam</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It started because of basic human need. It started because of pancakes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Audrey had been new to town, and as newbies often did, she’d been searching for a place to eat out. Audrey suspects that the desperate need to find a place wasn't always so dominant in other newbies' cases, but for Audrey it was essential. Like actually a matter of life and death. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Audrey was not a cook, in any sense of the word. In fact whatever the opposite of a cook was, she was that, times a thousand, with singed sprinkles and a burnt cherry on the top. Ovens had been known to spontaneously burst into flames just by the mere thought that she might use one. Microwaves hated her and refused to cooperate no matter how easy the ready made meal packet claimed it would be. Kettles were unpredictable to the point where Audrey had given up on having hot drinks at home all together. Heck, even the damn fridge could be a temperamental minx at times. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last time Audrey had attempted making a meal herself, the fire department had begged her to stop trying. Full on begged. They’d gotten down on their knees and everything. Audrey suspects their desperation may have had something to do with the fact that it had been the eleventh time that day they’d been called to her apartment to put out a fire which had started due to her failed attempts to, you know, fed herself, but still, having a bunch of firefighters begging on your kitchen floor for you to never </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>again attempt to cook, had certainly been an experience. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So when Audrey had moved she’d vowed to herself not to even contemplate the idea. This was a new start and she refused to be known as the women on the arson diet. So sure she was a 30 year old woman who couldn’t even make herself a cup of tea without drama but hey who cared. At least she never had to worry about losing hours spent grocery shopping, all her trips were a quick ten minute deal. Still, as the world hadn’t quite yet worked out a way to transport minds into the bodies of robot machines, Audrey still needed to give into those basic human needs and eat. Which is why as soon as the last box had been placed in her new apartment, she’d gone on the hunt for a suitable food source. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Which is where she’d seen the sign for “the best pancakes you’ll ever taste” written in colourful chalk on the blackboard sign outside a quaint little dinner named Sunshine’s Dinner which was only a few minutes from her apartment. If the sign itself hadn’t convinced her, the deep rumbling in her stomach had. Unable to resist Audrey went in, taking a seat in the booth by the window. She’d soon been greeted by a younger woman, in her early twenties, who had a fresh face that glowed with open hearted kindness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, welcome to Sunshines I’m Tia and I’ll be your waitress, what can I get for you today?”  Tia's voice had been bright and cheerful, a complete reflection of the dinner’s name itself. She’d flashed Audrey a smile that was so luminous that it stole the words right out of Audrey’s mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ummm.” Audrey had mumbled, mouth hanging open a little as her mind had fixated solely on the angelic being that had just appeared. Tia was a slight, slender being, barely 5 ft , with long wavy golden brown hair that she’d tied into a loose messy bun. Her eyes, a deep green, sparkled as the sunlight hit them illuminating the warmth behind them as she’d waited patiently to take Audrey’s order, pad and pen in her perfectly manicured hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When several moments had come and gone, Tia had looked up from the pad, quipping an eyebrow at Audrey, who had still been staring up at her in awe. The movement had jogged Audrey back into reality. Blinking several times and letting out a cough of embarrassment, she’d glanced down at the menu on the table like it was an ancient scripture from the lost library of Alexandria.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh yeah I’ll take the pancakes and a cup of coffee please.” Audrey had said, avoiding Tia’s gazae, silently berated herself for acting like a fool. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good choice.” Tia said and then had paused for a moment, as if she was about to say something else. Audrey had felt the younger women staring at her and her cheeks had begun to flush pink under the scrutiny. However whatever Tia had been about to say was lost as the door to the dinner had swung open and a couple walked in.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright one set of pancakes and coffee, coming right up.” Tia had said swiftly with a nod before she’d left to tend to the new customers. Audrey had surreptitiously watched her go, peeking over her shoulder and admiring the swing of Tia’s hips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pancakes had been utterly delicious and yes they were in fact the best Audrey had ever had, but that wasn’t why she was now sitting in the dinner again just in time for lunch. Although Audrey suspected that the lunch here was just as good as the breakfast, she was not above admitting, at least to herself, that she was now shamelessly here for another reason entirely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Back so soon.” Tia says, as she bounces up to Audrey’s booth.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Blame those pancakes.” Audrey says with a shy smile. It’s not necessarily a lie, but Audrey is still a little worried Tia will see right through her ruse. Although Tia nods in a way that suggests she’s heard that many times before Audrey feels the need to explain further, just in case. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve actually just moved in down the road and I don’t cook.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What never?” Tia asks, obviously curious about the story behind that as she takes out her pad from her pocket and reaches up to take out the pen she’d stuck into her bun for safekeeping. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not unless I want to blow something up.” Audrey mumbles. Tia laughs and the sound is just as sweet as the smile that accompanies it. Audrey feels her heart pick up the pace. They chit chat for a few minutes after that. Audrey learns that Tia is a dancer who’s been working at the diner since her high-school days, and now picks up shifts in between dancing jobs. One because it keeps the money flowing and two because she just can’t seem to leave it behind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s home now, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tia says. In turn Audrey shares some of her more hilarious and utterly embarrassing cooking faux pas that leave Tia clutching at her sides and have Wayne, the diners cook, hanging his head in horror. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the end Audrey orders the chicken baguette with house coleslaw, a salad and a cherry milkshake to drink because why the hell not. It doesn't disappoint. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wayne you’re a god.” She says, holding her milkshake up to toast his abilities. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you m’lady.” Wayne says with a theatrics bow.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s gonna go straight to his head you know.” Tia says with a chuckle as she comes over to clear the table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s deserved though.” Audrey says slurping up the last of the milkshake before placing the empty glass onto the tray. Tia takes it away, before reappearing a second later and sliding into the booth opposite Audrey just as she’s searching her bag for her purse. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So dinner?” Tia says, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands. Audrey hesitates, eyes flicking up from her bag to look at Tia. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dinner?” Audrey echo’s, unsure where this was going. She knew where she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted </span>
  </em>
  <span>it to go, but just like cooking, life has taught her to never presume something is going to go the way you want. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know this great chinese restaurant and I was wondering if you want to go with me?” Tia asks, tone all sweetness and innocence, but the mischievous twinkle in her eyes suggests to Audrey that she already knew what Audrey’s answer to the question would be. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hell she could probably hear how Audrey’s heart was hammering in her chest right now. Probably heard how every time Tia had even looked at her today, it’d skipped a beat. If she hadn’t, she most definitely would have noticed the way Audrey’s cheeks were flushing pink. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure, girls gotta eat.” Audrey replies in what she intended to be a completely nonchalant tone but instead comes out giddy with filtatiours and highly suggestive energy. If Audrey could facepalm herself right now, she would.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tia however is unperturbed; she beams at her and scribbles down the address of the restaurant, telling Audrey to meet her there at 6. Just as she’s sliding out of the booth, Tia leans closer over the table and  whispers in a conspiratory manner. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dinner’s all well and good but I’ve always thought desert was the best meal of the day.”</span>
</p>
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